Hawaii wants premium visitors, but you wouldn’t know it from the way travelers get here. From cramped narrow-body cabins to aging planes, the disconnect between the state’s high-end vision and the airline reality is growing more obvious and more expensive.
These are long-haul flights, often lasting five to six hours from the West Coast, yet many are served by narrow-body jets that are better suited for short hops. Comfort is an afterthought. Onboard amenities have been stripped down. And while Hawaii pushes luxury fees, green taxes, and $700-a-night hotel stays, the ride over still comes with a middle seat and a tiny shrink-wrapped cookie.
Hawaii says premium, but airlines don’t act like it.
Over the past two years, the State of Hawaii has pushed aggressively to attract higher-spending travelers. That includes higher end US travelers, including those from San Francisco and Los Angeles, plus those from Japan and elsewhere. They are met with the upcoming visitor green fees and ever-increasing hotel taxes, as well as repeated comments from officials that they want “fewer, but better” tourists. Meanwhile, concerns about vacation rental bans are removing more budget-friendly vacation rentals and replacing them with hotel room options that cost $500 or more per night.
Hawaii’s pivot toward affluent international travelers has been building for some time.
For almost all visitors, the first authentic taste of Hawaii is the flight across the Pacific. And that’s where the experience often falls flat. Not only are many Hawaii flights operated with outdated cabins, but airlines continue to cut back on comfort while charging more. The result is a glaring contradiction: Hawaii says ‘premium,’ but the airlines often serve it on a tray with a 3/4-ounce shrink-wrapped cookie.
The planes that are among the worst for longer-haul flights.
The irony is that Hawaii’s longer-haul flights are often operated with aircraft better suited for 2- to 4-hour hops. Narrow-body jets like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A321 dominate more and more West Coast routes to all islands. That is an increasingly prevalent phenomenon, mainly due to the financial trade-off. These planes never offer lie-flat seating, and even first class can mean nothing more than a wider and less comfortable recliner with minimal foot and legroom.
In wide-body, United’s older 777s used on some Hawaii routes continue to draw traveler criticism for their outdated layouts—especially in business class, where some aircraft still operate in an eight-across configuration. That’s a setup most airlines retired globally years ago, and one that feels out of step for a flight to what’s supposed to be a world-class destination. As we shared in this deep dive on skipped upgrades, many flyers now bypass these so-called premium cabins entirely.
Hawaiian continues to offer its six-across A330 wide-body first/business, which does not provide aisle access from each seat, requiring you to walk over someone else in first class. These feature awkward and outdated lie-flat seats.
Wide-body service is on the decline.
Only a limited number of Hawaii routes still see wide-body service with lie-flat seats, and even those are shrinking. Hawaiian Airlines, which once promised Dreamliner luxury, is now shifting its 787 flagship toward international flying instead. As covered in Hawaiian Dreamliner departs, Hawaii fades as Seattle rises globally, routes like Rome and elsewhere are gaining Dreamliner attention. In contrast, Hawaii routes are being pulled back or replaced with legacy A330 and narrow-body aircraft.
Alaska Airlines, which now owns Hawaiian, itself operates only narrow-body planes and, to our knowledge, has never had plans for lie-flat seating to Hawaii. Delta and American fly wide-body aircraft to Honolulu from hubs like Dallas or Atlanta, but most of their West Coast service utilizes these same domestic narrow-body aircraft. The net effect is clear: even where demand exists, airlines are retreating from premium equipment in Hawaii. The choice is a more economical aircraft and more flight frequency.
Premium economy exists—but not for most Hawaii flights.
On paper, premium economy does exist to and from Hawaii. However, in practice, it’s limited to select wide-body routes on American, Delta, and United, primarily from major hubs such as Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, and Chicago. If you’re flying from the West Coast, chances are you’ll never see it. These aircraft also offer lie-flat business class, meaning travelers must be departing from a city big enough and far enough away to justify both.
Hawaiian Airlines, despite introducing the long-range 787, deliberately skipped the premium economy class. As we covered in No premium economy, no upgrade: Hawaiian Airlines’ big miss, that airline offers only business/first and extra-legroom economy, leaving a wide gap in comfort choices for Hawaiian’s long-haul leisure flyers. Alaska plans to rectify that in the future on the Hawaii-elusive Dreamliners and on the A330, but exactly how and when has not been specified. It is clear that premium economy will be introduced to Hawaiian’s A330 fleet, which will continue to fly some Hawaii routes.
That’s the real story: not that premium economy is gone, but that it’s mainly out of reach unless you happen to live near the right airport, and fly at the right time on the right plane.
Airlines are squeezing Hawaii travelers harder than ever.
The shift toward narrow-bodies and basic service isn’t an accident. It’s part of a broader pattern where airlines prioritize efficiency, tight turns, and profitability over comfort. As we wrote in Airlines plan to squeeze Hawaii travelers unless they pay up, even so-called premium services now come with stripped-down perks, and economy travelers are left feeling the squeeze most of all.
At the same time, add-ons have exploded. More bag fees, seat selection charges, and reductions or eliminations of meals are now standard. On red-eye flights, which are now more frequent than ever before, many carriers offer no meal service at all. Instead of launching new comfort offerings, airlines are monetizing basic human needs. So far, only the lavatories are exempt.
The premium destinations that get premium service.
What stings for many Hawaii travelers is the clear contrast with other true premium markets. American’s newest Airbus A321XLR, for instance, is set to launch with a real three-cabin setup—business, premium economy (pictured), and economy—but insiders already expect it will fly premium-heavy transatlantic routes first, not to Hawaii. It is unclear whether Hawaii will ever be a priority, and if it is, consider Dallas as a likely launch point.
Airlines typically prioritize their newest premium products, such as Delta One Suites, American’s Flagship Business, and United Polaris, for transatlantic routes. These routes generate high yields from corporate travel and global premium demand.
In contrast, a 10-hour flight to Hawaii may come with a narrow seat, an outdated IFE system, and a bag of chips.
For Hawaii travelers, premium is a one-way street.
Hawaii keeps asking travelers to spend more on hotels, taxes, green fees, rental cars, and even beach access. But what’s being offered in return? For many, it starts with a tight seat on a narrow-body jet, no meal, and more.
And it doesn’t always get better on arrival. From unkept beach park facilities to crumbling state roads and more, infrastructure often lags far behind what travelers expect from a destination with luxury pricing. Even some high-end Hawaii hotels are no longer delivering the experience their rates promise. For a place aiming to go premium, too much of Hawaii still feels patched together and under-maintained.
Maybe airlines already understand something Hawaii officials haven’t figured out: you can’t charge for premium if the entire experience doesn’t live up to it.
Have you flown to Hawaii recently? Did your trip feel like paradise—or just another cramped flight with a pretty destination at the end? Share your experience below.
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When you say American’s newest Airbus A321XLR, for instance, is set to launch with a real three-cabin setup, business, premium economy, and economy.
American from Dallas and seasonally from Phoenix use the same wide-body planes for Hawaii as they do internationally. So a flight, for instance, the other day had come in from London Heathrow to Dallas before continuing to Hawaii. So the hard product is excellent, configured like the XLR you mentioned. It’s not at all like the United experience.
Unfortunately the AA hard product is excellent and now they sell upgrades in the app for cash or miles so our upgrades as a frequent flyer have declined greatly.
Delta when you can catch one of their Airbus A330’s, 350’s is excellent as well, but they move aircraft around frequently. I try and avoid their 767’s. Those planes are ancient.
Canadians are avoiding travel to the US, this of course includes Hawaii. As well as the very high cost, there is a shift in how we fell about American society. The housing problem and homelessness in Hawaii are very visible. Sanitation, public washrooms are in dire need of upgrades. As a visitor have been made to feel, we created this problem. American government policies will not support the social services needed..as a Canadian we see that rich Americans just want to keep their wealth. It truly is a class war fuelled by your elected government.. sorry it’s very political and also heart breaking!
Last fall, I had the severe displeasure of flying from Kauai to Los Angeles in what was supposed to be Business Class on a Delta A321Neo. It was a horrible experience. The seats were so close together you could barely get in and out of them. There was no extra padding in the seats or foot rests. In spite of paying a premium price to be in Business Class, it was exactly like being in Economy. I ended up with bruises on my thighs from trying to get in an out of the seat and I am a normal size woman. In the past, Delta flew 757s on this route and there was a good 3 feet of room between the rows and the seats were like recliners. The pilot of the A321Neo told us how much more fuel efficient it is. I don’t give a flip how much money Delta saves on gas. If I pay for Business Class, I want a premium seat.
Airlines know that travel to/from Hawaii is 90% leisure, valuing price over amenities 80% of the time. Whether intended or not, this article gives off a strong entitlement vibe that simply doesn’t match market realities.
Before I lived in Hawaii I flew to Hawaii as a kid several times a year from Denver on a Western, Continental or United DC-10 or sometimes a 747. Occasionally we would fly through LAX but it was still always on a widebody, this was in the 70s and through the 80s. Was being in the middle of the middle any fun on a DC-10 or 747? No! Or in a window seat with two seats between me and aisle? Not really. But as a budding aviation geek I still loved it. What I don’t understand now is why the fuss over widebody vs. narrowbody? I’ll give it to the A-330 or 767 with its 2 seat sides but other than that, you are just as likely to get just as far from the aisle, thus, just as uncomfortable.
I’ll also argue that I can’t think of a narrowbody plane anywhere that has a three class layout so, no sense in even hoping that a premium cabin is coming to Hawaii in the form of a 737 or A321.
One last thing- West Coast to Hawaii just isn’t long haul, its pretty Medium-medium haul at most.
Being fortunate to fly from and to one of the remaining hubs offering widebodies and a true three class choice, I’m able to avoid the narrow body flights which are really a nightmare if you’re flying out of one of the distant hubs. Two, sometimes three connections and 15-16 hours in travel time are pretty brutal on anyone.
I tried it once and that’s all it took to say “nevva again”. Typical widebody flights from DFW, ATL, ORD consist of a early morning flight from a smaller hub, then about 1 to 2 hours connecting and then ~ 8 hours nonstop to HNL. Waaaay better then the miserable alternatives (often shorter tom in total duration).
The flights are always full and must be making money because the airlines continue to offer them. Delta and American are the only ones I fly – UAL’s 772’s are as tired and worn out as they get and their F/C seating is straight out of the Flintstones…
Best Regards
We vacation in oahu 2 times a year for 3 years straight.
We always stay at the park shore hotel. We have tried to stay at other more luxury hotels only to check out the next day and go back to the park shore. These so called luxury hotels are expensive and fall way short of what’s promised. Every trip gets more and more expensive. Flying to Hawaii it’s truthfully an awfull experience. Seats are too tight. No leg room, and that same awfull warm sandwich, with whatever they call that meat in it is horrible. Ived planned several trips for friends and family as now im the unofficial tour guide for them. we usually rent a car away from the airport which turns out to less expensive, and with the A.B.C. stores everywhere, you can’t beat that. Everyone is so welcoming and warm hearted. Hawaii is really paradise. Getting to paradise can be challenging, but once your in paradise you kind pur all the negative behind you. And once you swam with turtles .
I have been flying from the west coast to Hawaii for the last 40 years, mostly to Maui the last 24 years. Watching the larger twin isle aircraft slowly disappear. Hawaiian being the last great holdout, but that looks like it is going away as thier A330’s are aging out and being rerouted. I have been purchasing first class tickets for my family for many years. Just like everyone else I am not willing to pay a premium price for a less the premium experience. Hawaii tourism is in a death spiral. There are plenty of premium flights and destinations to other places around the world.
I don’t disagree that flying five hours sitting with your face about 8 inches from the seatback is tough. But, for the class of passenger involved relative to the rest of the flying marketplace, it’s doable for me and always has been (outside of the times I got upgraded, which were great.)
Perhaps a better question to ask than why Hawaii’s premium flight options from airlines aren’t matching the state’s desire to seek only wealthier travelers to visit is to ask who’s paying for those super-premium flight options/seats? I’d bet the numbers would show a Very high percentage of business people and/or high-level loyalty fliers from the airlines in question. Translation: much less business is done in Hawaii than most other states and the airlines know just how many elite loyalty program members they have. They know the need and they don’t see it for Mainland-Hawaii flights outside of first class and occasional upgrades or elite-focused pricing on those seats.
This article talks about how a 737 jet is not appropriate for a flight to Hawaii.
How is this any different than a flight from the west coast to Newark, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelohia, DC, Baltimore, etc.?
Its the same plane over virtually the same distance.
No where supports a larger plane these days. Airlines have figured out this is the most efficient plane to Hawaii.
For one thing, flying over land 100. Percent of the way, provides multiple alternate airports if a serious situation happens while flying between the two coasts
Flying West Coast to Hawaii is completely over ocean. No airports anywhere along the way.
I am told by pilots that this is the longest stretch of ocean any airline flies over anywhere on the globe.. And that is the reason airlines tend to put their most experienced pilots on this route, West Coast to Hawaii.
Airlines are pretty good at allocating their planes where they can make the most money. Apparently, Hawaii isn’t as premium a destination as some state planners think, or the airlines would put more premium heavy aircraft on those routes.
The trend in the airline industry is to add premium seats to capture premium leisure demand. If there’s really demand for them to Hawaii, we should see an increase in fancy premium seats.
Candidly, on daytime flights to and from the West Coast, I don’t think there’s that much demand for lie flat seats. The flights are only 5 hours. The only mainland markets that support this service are NYC to SFO and LAX, some of the largest and wealthiest communities in the nation. Hawaii isn’t that.
I fly to Hawaii 4 to 5 times a year; I am a budget traveler. Flight to and from Hawaii is the same with me. As a senior citizen with mobility problems my priority is to be near the bathroom on an aisle seat so feeling cramped is not an issue with me. To me it is my island destination that comes in my mind. As long as I can breathe and eat I wouldn’t mind how I get there. If Hawaii wants luxury travelers and they want nice planes to ride so be it. Live and let live.
We fly to Hawaii 2-3 times per year from SJC and in the past, we defer to schedule as to whether we booked on Alaska or Hawaiian (we try to avoid a HNL layover). We’re typically willing to pay up to $1200 each for First Class, but that classification is a joke. Yes; we get slightly more comfortable seats and mediocre food/drinks, but the age and cleanliness of the planes has been a real issue as has the perfunctory (but certainly not friendly) service from the flight attendants. We’ll start to look into buying all 3 seats in an extra legroom row. We don’t need lie-flat seats for a 5 hour flight, but cleaner, newer equipment and a more cheerful demeanor from the attendants would go a long way for us.
Sure airlines have to make money or they wouldn’t be in business. Two ways to get to Hawaii. Fly or sail. These businesses hold all the cards and Hawaii has none. These companies have to be profitable no matter what Hawaii prefers or wants. There again Hawaii can welcome or treat visitors as they wish after you arrive. If they prefer rich first class only then prepare to get subpar service and maybe the stink eye. Hawaii didn’t force you to go or decide on your travel destination. Look at it this way you got dropped on an island and have to pay and act as anybody requests for the whole duration of your stay. Not like Vegas where you can fly in and rent a car and leave the state if you get victimized or feel ripped off.
Hawaii has gotten extremely arrogant without any planning or vision into alternative sources of income outside of tourism. My friends and family are already worn out and they stay with me for free when visiting. Better than that, the higher spender audience they’re targeting are now going to Tahiti or Fiji instead. Until Hawaii shifts gears, residents will lose.
I agree and disagree a little bit. The narrowbody flights aren’t fun, thinking back as I sit here in Kauia a few days after my United 737MAX-8 flight from LAX. It was a brand new plane and very clean, a huge change from the usual Raft of the Medusa 737 (Google that term, look for a painting, you’ll see what I mean). The newer A321NEOs on the route are also nice in first and economy classes, having flown them with United and Hawaiian. The bad part? Here goes… I’m hardly morbidly obese, but I am a big guy with broad shoulders, I weight lift a lot, run a lot, and at over six feet am just a large human being. I fit quite easily into United’s premium economy seat in terms of butt and thigh width, but shoulder width? That’s another issue. It was agony for six hours. I had upgraded our seats to first class on the return trip before the plane even reached the runway. For smallish people, economy is fine. For larger folks, like me, it is not, regardless of the age of the plane.
We fly to Hawaii three times a year, we try to find flights with the wide body Airbus 330, but now I find that the only flight out from PDX to Honolulu is on the smaller 321, an aircraft that I find very uncomfortable in any class. You are right in your comments-we pay a premium price, and get far less than a premium experience. Thanks for your updates.
My husband and I flew business class on American Airlines from the Mainland. Very spacious, cubicles (I call them). Excellent service. After landing it was a long, hot walk to baggage claim! Vending machine out of order, and pushy rude people. Hotel never sent shuttle! We hailed a Taxi ($20). The island itself (Oahu) has changed a lot within 7 years… all for the worse. Homeless people “everywhere”, many, many speed bumps… closed beaches, which all of this is sad.
Seems to me that the traveler willing to pay for the luxury experience Hawaii seems to want to sell will not accept the cattle-class flights. Over time, the airlines will have to adapt. If not, Hawaii will need to adapt to cheaper tourists or just fewer of them. Take a while, though.
I flew in May with HA first class. The flight was great and although the trip was short it was great. I am going this week to my timeshare at HHV, again on HA first class. I have been going to Hawaii for 50 years. Things have changed and when Covid hit you could tell tourists were not as welcome. I used to fly economy and be crammed in the back but after trying first class I was hooked. I realize most people cannot afford this. I love Hawaii but wish it was not getting so expensive. But Hawaii is my paradise.
It is a shame what is happening to deter vacationers to Maui. The new proposed law is regrettable for all parties concerned. The merger with Alaskan Air seems to be degrading the status of Hawaiian Air. Regarding flights, we have been visiting the islands each year for 20 years, with an extended stay on Maui. For the past 8 years, we fly from Tel Aviv to SF or La (15 hours in the air), then take Hawaiian Air to the islands. We really don’t mind a five hour flight. Yes, the size of the planes do have their limitations, but the comfort is okay. Food? The beverage offered to us is enough for us. We were going to enroll for the Hawaiian Air Mastercard for it’s benefits (eg luggage fees). Now we cannot due to the elimination of “perks.” Again, it’s a shame (or should I say a “sham”).
The airlines’ names are:
Alaska Airlines (Not Alaskan!)
Hawaiian Airlines
Mahalo
5-6 hours is barely a long haul flight and most airlines don’t pay their employees or give crew rest on short flights like that. Eat dinner snacks, watch a movie, play 5 rounds of solitaire and then you’re landing.
Airline and political greed wins out over comfort and a reasonably priced vacation destination. Life is full of choices and no one has to vacation in Hawaii. It’s sad to reflect on what a Hawaii vacation once was and what it is now.
The airlines’ job isn’t to make you comfortable. The airlines’ job is to maximize return on the investors’ capital.
If they can do that by making you comfortable, great.
If not, that’s okay, too .
Exactly. I would rather have a profitable and well capitalized Alaska Airlines than Hawaiian and Alaska operating separately that are just limping along.
AS flies 737’s and some MAX’s on the LAX-EWR, LAX-BZE, LAX-GUA, LAX-LIR, LAX-SJO routes which are all about the same length as routes to Hawaii.
As AS absorbs HA, they will make even more adjustments/changes from the west coast – think two years out.
As for LAX-Hawaii service, AS will continue to operate widebody flights. For HA, HNL-LAX has been their busiest route. True, HNL-SEA will see more widebody flights for aircraft repositioning – but passenger numbers on the HNL-SEA route may not equal the numbers on the HNL-LAX route.
Hawaii did this to themselves.
“Educate travelers” “less lower income travelers” “travelers who behave”
I tell the current rhetoric to my neighbors, most of which are educated, business people, executives, IT and the like… their normal response is “who do they think we all are? Why would we need to be educated by a bunch of islanders in the middle of the Pacific”
Florida about to set another tourist record. Canadien travel only down 3%. Canadien visitors are down between 0.5-30% depending on which island. (HTA report)Guess when that downfall started? 2023-2024.
It’s a value, rhetoric, cost issue… and Hawaii is responsible for its current predicament
At least AS offers 40-41′ inch pitch in first class on their 737’s as compared to AA and UA’s narrow body aircraft which are at 37″. I feel like a squashed tamale when I absolutely have to fly AA/UA on their narrowbody aircraft in first.
Two exceptions, UA’s 757-222’s with Polaris seating and AA’s A321 “T”s with three cabin seating – both are actually quite nice, although the T’s are becoming worn out.
No word if AS is going to change to 41″ pitch on the HA A321’s – similar to when AS acquired 10 brand new A321’s as part of the VX acquisition. Those aircraft had 41” pitch – but have all since been sold to AA.